


The Art of Corruption

by magicsophicorn



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dark, Dubious Consent, Evil!Ruby, F/F, Past Abuse, Werewolf Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-14 14:41:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3414485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicsophicorn/pseuds/magicsophicorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina is trapped, both in the palace and in an unhappy marriage. On the day she finally escapes she meets a mysterious woman in a red cloak who will turn her life, and the kingdom, upside down. (Prompt: Evil!Ruby)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Art of Corruption

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dreamsheartstory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamsheartstory/gifts).



Regina watched the small bird flit from branch to branch and sighed deeply. What she would give to be like that bird.

Free.

She could hear the sounds of the outside world drifting in over the palace wall, and not for the first time she considered attempting to climb it. To escape.

She could never quite decide if the King would care, or even notice, if she managed it. On the one hand he paid her scant little attention, aside from the occasional night visit to her chambers, visits which she dreaded above all else. But then on the other hand, he kept her locked up and guarded as though he jealously wanted her all to himself. She had long ago stopped trying to understand what, if anything, her husband felt for her. She had never cared either way.

The enforced isolation did have one advantage though, Regina was fairly certain that if she ever did make it over that wall and out into the world that no one would recognise their Queen. She was not allowed to attend any of the public functions at the palace, or to leave the castle, so only a select few of the nobility who had visited the palace had ever laid eyes on her. Not like their beloved Princess Snow.

Snow.

As usual Regina felt a wave of anger and jealousy twist in the pit of her stomach when she thought of her step-daughter. She tried as always to squash those feelings. It wasn't the girl's fault that her father loved her more than he would ever love Regina. She didn't _want_ him to love her, she reminded herself. It also wasn't her fault that her father allowed her the freedom to come and go as she pleased, to do whatever she wanted, while Regina was forced to live her life in isolation in the palace. It _was_ her fault however that she was not able to, or worse - _chose_ to, not see any of it. She would happily chatter away to Regina about her trips out and about in the kingdom, the things she'd done, the people she'd met, without ever seeming to notice that Regina was slowly suffocating in her loneliness and desperation for freedom. Regina tried so hard not to, but she couldn't help herself, she _hated_ Snow for that. But not as much as she hated the King.

As she so often did, Regina stood and walked to the palace wall. Her guard followed behind her a short way. She walked round the entire palace courtyard, memorising every crack that could be a foothold, every tree branch that could be climbed.

Regina stopped abruptly, her heart beating fast. There in front of her was the first viable option for escape she had ever seen. A tree had fallen, probably in the storm a few nights ago, and had smashed into the wall, destroying the top of a small section. It was still high, but it was climbable. Especially since the tree was on the inside of the wall, leaning against it still. She had to play this right, she knew. She had to plan carefully. She couldn't let anyone know what she was thinking or planning. _Was she planning?_ Would she really be able to do it? She had to. She couldn't live like this forever.

She let out a disapproving tutting sound, for the benefit of her guard, before turning and hurrying back inside to her chambers to think and plan.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the dead of night Regina dropped from her window to the ground. She had lowered herself down using her bed sheet. She only had one guard and he was always outside her door. She was wearing black. The most unobtrusive clothes she'd managed to find in her wardrobe. She wore black leggings which she usually wore under other clothes, and a black cloak which she hadn't even known she'd owned. She'd improvised. She wouldn't exactly blend in, but she also wouldn't be dressed like the Queen. Hopefully she'd just come across as a wealthy woman with little fashion sense.

She ran to the section of wall she had seen that day, praying every second of the way that no one saw her.

No one did.

Regina took a deep breath on reaching the wall. Now came the hardest part. The climb. 

Slowly, Regina began to climb the tree leaning up against the wall. She could feel it groan and shift under her weight, and for a horrible moment she thought it would fall.

But the tree held, and eventually Regina found herself sitting atop the palace wall.

Regina felt a rush of excitement, quickly followed by an even greater rush of terror. She had just realised a fatal flaw in her plan. It was a long way down from the wall, and there was no tree on the other side to climb down.

She fought back a sob. After all this, after coming this far, freedom was so close, but she couldn't reach it.

Then she spotted her salvation. Further down the wall, on the outside of the palace, there was a huge mound of cut grass which the gardeners had obviously dumped there, to be moved later.

Knowing that every second she stayed on the wall increased her chances of being seen, Regina shimmied along the top of the wall, inching closer to the pile of grass.

When she reached it, she hesitated for only the briefest of moments before throwing herself off the wall and down into the waiting mound of grass.

She lay still in the grass for a few moments. She wanted to laugh, or cry, or both. She had done it. She had really done it. After so many years of thinking about escaping, dreaming about it, planning it. She had never really thought she would actually _do it._

But she had. She was out of the palace. She could be free.

Regina scrambled up out of the grass, not caring that she was covered in the stuff, and without even a backwards glance at the palace, she fled into the forest.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Three hours after leaving the palace, Regina was forced to admit to herself that perhaps running away had not been the best of ideas. She was horribly lost in the forest. She knew she needed to get further away from the palace before walking on roads or entering towns. Whilst the general populace wouldn't recognise her, the King's guards certainly would, and there were always some of them on the roads directly outside the palace.

Regina had prepared the best she could. She'd brought with her a bag which contained a small amount of food, one or two items of clothing, and some of her jewellery. She didn’t have access to any money at all, she had never needed it being stuck in the palace, but she hoped that she would be able to sell the jewellery when she eventually reached a town.

Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her and with a sigh Regina sat on the ground, her back against a large oak tree.

She could do this. She had to do this. Going back to the palace, to that life, to _him_ , simply was not an option.

Regina pulled her cloak tightly around herself and lay down with her head on her bag and tried to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At first, Regina wasn't sure what had woken her, but as she sat up she quickly realised.

Sitting on a tree stump in front of her was a woman.

Regina pressed back against the tree in fright, and the woman smiled.

She was probably around the same age as Regina. She was wearing a simple peasant's dress, but with a strikingly bright red cloak. The woman had long dark hair and was, Regina thought, shockingly beautiful. As she looked at her in the moonlight all the hairs on the back of Regina's neck stood on end. It was as though everything in Regina's body was screaming ' _danger_ ' even though she could see nothing obviously threatening about the woman.

"Well then, what do we have here?" the woman said, "Judging by the black clothes and meagre possessions my first thought would be a common thief, but you're too pretty and well fed for that, so I'm going to go for run-away, am I right?"

The woman's voice was sweet. Regina hadn't really thought about what she was going to tell people when she eventually met someone. She hadn't been planning on that happening for a while yet.

"Oh, um, y..yes," Regina stammered.

The woman lounged back on the stump, staring intently at Regina.

"You know it's funny, I heard the Queen ran away this evening…" the woman said slowly.

Panic rose in Regina's chest. _She knew._ This woman knew. It was too soon. She couldn't go back.

Regina scrambled to her feet and tried to run.

She heard a melodious laugh behind her, and faster than she would have thought possible she felt a hand grab the hood of her cloak and pull her backwards and down to the ground with far more force than a woman of her size should have been capable of.

As soon as Regina's back hit the ground the woman was on top of her.

"Well now, what am I going to do with you," the woman said softly, stroking the side of Regina's face with the back of her knuckles, "I could take you back to the palace and claim the inevitable reward. But then, money's never been a big motivator for me." She shrugged. "Or I could keep you all to myself. I've never tasted royalty before."

Regina whimpered. She couldn't go back. She couldn't. She'd rather die.

"Please, just kill me," she whispered.

The woman paused, obviously not expecting that response.

"You would rather die than go back? Why? Don't you have every luxury you could possibly desire in the palace?"

"Except my freedom," Regina said, suddenly feeling it was very important to make this woman understand, "I can't go back to being locked up there, my only companion a man old enough to be my father, who doesn't ever speak to me, not even when he forces me to lay with him. So, yes, I would rather die."

Regina suddenly felt able to look the woman in the eyes. Challenging her, begging her, to kill her.

The woman stood quickly and paced back and forth, frowning.

This time Regina did not try to run.

Eventually the woman stopped pacing.

"I will give you a choice," she said, "because I understand the desire to be free. I will kill you, or I will take you back to the palace and then kill the King. Either way, you will be free. Which is it to be?"

Regina stared at the woman, a million thoughts suddenly swirling in her mind. How would this woman even be able to kill the King? Why would she do that for her? Was she even considering asking this woman to kill her husband? Yes, of course she was. Regina had imagined killing the King herself so may times over the years, but she never once actually thought she would really do it. And although she would rather die than go back there, if she had the choice Regina didn't really want to die. After all, she hadn't really _lived_ yet. But could she really condemn the King to death? He might be a terrible husband, but he was a good King and father. Did he deserve to die? No. Yes. She didn't know. Regina felt helpless.

The woman took a few steps towards Regina.

"Well? Make a decision _your majesty_ , or I shall have to make it for you."

"Kill the King!" Regina heard herself shout before she'd even realised she was speaking.

She wanted to cry. Her life had brought her to a point of utter desperation and hopelessness. She couldn't go back to that life. But it was abundantly clear that she wasn't capable of escaping it on her own. This was the only other way out. She had to do this.

A slow grin spread over the woman's face. In that moment she looked truly dangerous.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

She held her hand out to Regina to help her up.

"Well then, we best get you back to the palace, your highness. My name's Red, by the way."

"Regina."

Red snorted.

"I know that, your majesty."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Regina paced nervously in her chambers. It had been weeks since Red had brought her back. She didn't know how many, she'd lost count. She was no longer allowed out into the garden since her little escape attempt, so it was harder to keep track of time.

Tonight was the night though, Regina knew that.

Red had been very specific in her instructions. Get the King out of the palace on the night of a full moon. That was it. Red would do the rest.

At first Regina had had no idea how to go about that. It wasn't like the King ever spoke to her.

But she'd been patient. She'd been clever. She'd started to circulate stories, first amongst the servants, then the guards, then the few nobility she was allowed to interact with.

She spoke of a legendary white stag, which would only appear on the night of a full moon, and who would grant untold favour on anyone who was able to catch it.

The King loved to hunt. He took the bait much sooner than Regina had expected.

Regina paused her pacing to look out of the window. What she expected to see, she didn’t know.

For the hundredth time that night she wondered if Red would do as she'd promised, or if she'd just tricked Regina into going back so that she could collect the reward money for returning the Queen safe and sound.

Regina heard a wolf howl in the distance. She resumed her pacing. She would not sleep tonight.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Three days after the King's death and Regina was still required to wear black in mourning.

She was not mourning in her heart.

In fact, she quite liked wearing black now. To her, it symbolised her freedom.

She tried to feel bad, sad, guilty, anything other than happy, at least for Snow, but she found that she was unable to.

There was a commotion outside her chambers, and she turned just in time to see the doors thrown open to reveal a smiling Red.

"Good evening _your majesty_ ," she said, somehow making the last word sound like an insult.

"Did… Did you kill my guards?" Regina stuttered out.

Red pouted exaggeratedly.

"Only some of them," she shrugged. "You're the Queen, you can just get more."

Red sauntered around the room as she spoke.

Regina didn't know what to think or feel. This woman was responsible for her freedom. She wanted to throw her arms around her and thank her. But at the same time, she was still in awe and fear of this woman who radiated danger and was able to massacre the King and his entire hunting party, and break into the palace killing some of the guards, apparently single handedly.

"Well?" Red said, finally standing still in front of Regina. "Aren't you going to thank me?"

Regina breathed deeply, thinking of all the things she wanted to say.

"Red, what you've done for me… You've given me my freedom. I can never thank you enough."

Red took a few steps towards her.

"I'm glad you're so _grateful_ , your majesty."

As Red looked up at her with a smirk, Regina understood exactly how she was expected to show her gratitude.

She wasn't afraid. She was used to giving her body to someone she didn't particularly want to.

She had her husband to thank for that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As the first rays of sunlight filtered in through the window Regina studied the sleeping form beside her.

Red lay naked above the sheets. She apparently hadn't felt the need to dress after their activities the night before. Regina had, of course, even if purely for warmth. Did Red not feel the cold?

Regina had never seen another woman naked before last night. Despite her general air of danger, Red just seemed so soft to Regina in that moment.

She had been surprisingly gentle, the night before.

Regina had expected it to be no different to all the times with her husband. He simply took what he wanted and left when he was done, with no concern for her pleasure. Or pain.

Red, on the other hand, had only seemed to care about Regina's pleasure. She had touched Regina in ways she had never been touched before, and Regina had felt pleasure she had not known it was possible to feel with another person.

For the first time in her life Regina had wanted to reciprocate, to give Red the same pleasure that she had given her. But she hadn't really known how to. Red hadn't minded. In fact, she had seemed to enjoy telling Regina what to do, where to touch her, how to touch her.

As Regina stared, Red suddenly opened her eyes, startling Regina.

"Good morning, your majesty, I trust you slept well?"

Red stretched as she spoke, and Regina watched her toned muscles ripple beneath her skin.

"Y… Yes. Thank you. And you?" Regina scalded herself internally for always stuttering around Red. She would have to work on that.

Red laughed.

"This is the first time I've slept in a bed for weeks, what do you think?"

Red stood and wandered round the room, still completely naked. Regina watched from the bed.

"I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"

Before Regina could say anything Red had thrown open the doors to her chambers.

"You, guard, the Queen is hungry, tell the servants to bring us breakfast."

Before the guard could even reply Red had slammed the doors in his face.

"Red!" Regina gasped, "you can't do that!"

Red threw back her head and laughed.

"Why not? You're the Queen, and those people are paid to serve you, are they not?"

"But… But you're _naked!_ " Regina hissed.

"So?" Red raised an eyebrow and sauntered back to the bed. "No one seems to mind when they see me naked. You certainly don't."

Regina did not want to have to admit that that was true. So she said nothing and looked away.

"Regina," Red said, and Regina looked back up at her. It was the first time she had called her by name.

"You need to remember that you're the Queen, and there is no longer a King to dictate what you can and cannot do. You have the power now. You have the crown. You can do _anything_ you want. Stop acting as though there are _rules_ that apply to you. You are truly free. Remember that."

Regina had felt like a prisoner for so long she wasn't even sure she knew how to be free. But Red was right, she was free now. She did need to remember that.

Well, Red was half right.

"I may be free from the King, true, but there are still rules. There's still morality. I still must follow the law." Regina explained.

Red smirked. "Morality and the law didn't seem to matter much when you asked me to kill the King."

Regina stiffened. "That was different."

"Why? Because I offered? You could have said no."

"But then you would have killed me."

"True, but that would have been the more _moral_ thing for you to do. Would it not?"

Regina knew that Red was right. She had struggled with it at first, but not anymore. She couldn't bring herself to regret her choice when it had brought her her freedom.

"And what about you then, do you not have any morals?" Regina challenged.

Red scoffed.

"Of course not. They're irrelevant. The only thing that matters is survival. That's just nature. Does the wolf ask whether it's right to kill the sheep? Of course not. He just does."

"But we are not animals, Red."

Red stared intently at Regina.

"Yes, Regina, that's exactly what we are."

Before Regina could think of anything to say in response there was a knock at the door and a servant entered with a large tray of food. He placed the tray on the table, bowed, and left without a word.

Red didn't even wait for him to leave the room before walking over to the table and starting to eat. She picked the food up with her hands and put it straight in her mouth, without using plates or cutlery.

"So I take it you're planning to be a good little Queen and to rule your kingdom with justice, love and fairness then?" Red said around a large mouthful of food.

"Of course I am," Regina replied, finally joining Red at the table to eat breakfast.

"It'll never work, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean they'll never accept you as their Queen. The people, that is. They don't know you, they've never even seen you. They'll look to their beloved Princess Snow, not you. If she decides she wants to rule, you don't stand a chance."

As soon as Red said it, Regina knew it was true. The people did love Snow. But would Snow want to rule? Would she try to take the crown from her? Regina didn't know.

"Of course if you do something about her now, you won't have to worry about that…"

Red had that same look on her face as she'd had back in the woods when Regina had chosen to kill the King.

"I am not… _You_ are not going to kill Snow White," Regina said forcefully.

Red shrugged as though she wasn't bothered.

"Fine, but if you want to have any authority over the people then you need to keep her away from them."

And just like that Regina knew what she had to do. All those years Snow had ignored Regina's captivity in the palace, well, now she was going to learn what it felt it like. It was _justice_ , Regina thought.

"Then that's exactly what I'll do," Regina whispered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Regina threw the stack of papers across the room in frustration.

"Get out," she yelled at the startled officials.

They left without a word. It was late. Very late. They were probably grateful to be dismissed and go home.

Regina paced the room, running her fingers through her hair.

She was trying to be a good Queen. She _was_ a good Queen. But the people kept making things difficult. Refusing to pay taxes, and so on. Regina knew the taxes weren't unreasonably high. So why wouldn't they pay them? How else did the people expect her to build roads and such for them if they wouldn't pay their taxes?

Regina didn't know what to do.

She stomped down the hallway to her chambers, feeling very much like a teenager throwing a tantrum.

She was unsurprised to find Red there, relaxing on the bed.

She had long ago instructed the guards to allow Red free passage around the palace, largely to stop her killing them. She still occasionally did, for fun, Regina could only assume.

"What's the matter your highness?" Red asked with a smirk, "are the peasants misbehaving again? I thought you had sorted your little Snow problem?"

"I did!" Regina cried, throwing her hands up in frustration, "She hasn't been allowed to leave the palace since her father died. We'll see how she likes it, since she didn't seem to think it was a problem when that was my fate. But even without their precious princess to rabble rouse them they don't respect me at all. It's like I have no authority over them whatsoever."

Regina knew she sounded bitter. She didn't care. She _was_ bitter.

"My dear there are only two ways to have authority over people, make them love you, or make them fear you."

"I don't know how to make them do either of those things," Regina said dejectedly.

"That's why you have me," Red said, standing and walking over to Regina. "Let's see, I know you'd rather have them love you than fear you, and the easiest way to do that is to be their saviour. If something, or someone, were to make life… _unpleasant_ for them, and you were able to send in the guards to protect them, well, they'd have to love you then."

"Oh? And who exactly are we going to convince to do that, without anyone knowing that I'm responsible?" Regina asked sceptically.

Red gave a little twirl and raised her hands theatrically with a smirk.

"And how exactly are you going to scare the kingdom into needing my protection?"

Regina knew Red could be dangerous, that she had killed. Often. But surely one woman couldn't terrorize an entire kingdom, not even Red.

"Oh don't play coy with me Regina, you're an intelligent woman, surely you know by now what I am?"

Regina hesitated.

She had her suspicions, but she had been refusing to believe them. Red's speed, her strength, her disappearances at certain times of the month, it all pointed to one thing.

Regina swallowed. She looked out of the window at the full moon.

"Show me," she eventually whispered.

Red slowly took a few steps backwards, never breaking eye contact with Regina, until she was standing below the window, illuminated by the light of the full moon. She slowly reached up and undid the knot on her red cloak, letting it drop to the floor.

As soon as the material dropped from her body Red fell forward. Regina could hear her bones crunching. Her clothes ripped and fell to the floor as she grew in size and rough brown fur sprouted all over her rapidly changing body.

Regina found herself unable to look away from Red's transformation. It was grotesque and beautiful all at the same time.

After a few minutes Regina stood face to face with an enormous wolf, twice the size of any man, and she instantly understood how Red had been able to kill the entire hunting party as well as the King.

Logically Regina knew she should be afraid, but she just… wasn't.

The wolf stood still, as did Regina, they stared into each others eyes.

All Regina could see in those eyes was Red, and she had stopped being afraid of her long ago.

Regina reached out and ran her hand along the fur at the side of Red's neck.

Red angled her head towards her red cloak on the floor, and then back to Regina.

Regina picked up the cloak and threw it over Red.

The sound of crunching bones once again filled the room.

Soon Red was standing before Regina, naked except for her red cloak.

"I lose a lot of clothes that way," Red said with a shrug, completely unfazed by her nudity, as always.

Regina didn't know what to say. She thought that this should change how she saw Red, but it really didn't. All Regina saw was the woman who had given her her freedom, who had seen her when no one else had, who had cared what she wanted, and done what she was able to do to give her it. But more than any of that, Red had made Regina feel _alive_ for the first time.

Regina rushed forward and crushed her lips against Red's in a fierce kiss. She grasped Red by the hips, spinning them round and pushing them backwards until Red's back was pressed against the table.

They had been intimate many times since that first night, but Regina had never initiated anything. Until now.

Regina pulled away from Red slightly and reached behind her, lifting Red's hood up on to her head.

Red grinned slowly, and Regina thought she looked more like a wolf then than she had when she had been one a few moments before.

Regina leaned down and ran her tongue slowly around Red's nipple before sucking it into her mouth.

She licked and sucked and nipped at each breast in turn until Red was squirming and growling underneath her, only then did she start to kiss her way down her lover's firm stomach to where she knew she was wanted most of all.

Regina had learned quickly what Red liked. It helped that she was very vocal about it.

As Regina swiped her tongue along Red's slick folds she heard the sound of splintering wood above her as Red gouged deep claw marks into the table she was leaning against.

Regina grinned against Red's sex. Red liked to scratch things when she was enjoying herself. The headboard of Regina's bed was littered with deep scratch marks, and Regina usually had to replace at least one pillow after each visit from Red. But Red had never once scratched her.

Regina licked and sucked at Red's clit until she was gasping and thrusting her hips forward into Regina's mouth.

Regina grazed her teeth over the sensitive bud and slipped two fingers inside Red. She began to pump her fingers in and out of Red, still grazing her clit with her teeth and tongue. Red liked it a little harder than Regina did.

It didn't take long to drive Red over the edge, and she came with a noise not unlike a howl as Regina removed her fingers but continued to lick her in all the right places. 

Red recovered her senses quicker than Regina was ever able to after climaxing, and she bent down and lifted Regina easily in her arms then carried her over to the bed, her red cloak billowing out behind her.

"Now, your majesty, it's my turn to eat you up."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Regina tried to swallow the bile she felt rising in her throat. She tried not to look too closely at the broken and bloody bodies of men, women, and even children, that still lay scattered around the town.

It was worse knowing that she was responsible for them.

But it was necessary. It was for the greater good. She had to keep telling herself that.

"Her Majesty, Queen Regina," her herald announced to the waiting crowd.

"My dear citizens. What has happened here is a terrible tragedy. My deepest sympathy and condolences go out to all who have lost someone here. As your Queen I vow that I will do everything in my power to protect you. As such I will be posting a contingent of guards in every town to keep you safe from whoever, or whatever, has done this."

There was applause, and murmurs of people expressing gratitude rippled around the gathered crowd. It was working. The plan was working.

"Of course in order to afford this, it is imperative that everyone who is able should pay their taxes so that we can pay the brave guards who will be keeping you safe."

Regina scanned the crowd quickly, there was no obvious sign of dissent. That was a relief. Her eye was drawn to a flash of red at the back of the crowd and she realised with a jolt that Red was standing in the midst of the very people she had slaughtered like sheep the night before, smiling and applauding innocently.

Regina finished her speech in a hurry and headed back to the palace, the sick feeling in her stomach abating only slightly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Regina didn't see Red for four days after that. She was surprised by how quickly the vision of death and destruction caused by her lover faded from her consciousness.

She was just sitting down to lunch when Red sauntered into the room.

She sat down opposite Regina and immediately put her feet up on the table. Regina merely rolled her eyes. She'd learnt a while ago it wasn't worth trying to teach Red any kind of table manners.

"My my your highness, you look… different," Red said, her eyebrows raised.

Regina was wearing a deep purple gown with a high collar and a low front. It accentuated and displayed her breasts in a way her clothing never had before. She'd also done her makeup and hair differently. The entire look screamed 'power'.

"I thought it was about time I dressed more like a Queen," Regina shrugged and then looked up at Red through her lashes, "do you like it?"

Red's eyes dropped to her cleavage, which was now on prominent display in her new dress. She licked her lips slowly.

"I'll like it better when it's on the floor," she eventually said, and Regina smirked. She liked it.

"So, how are things in the kingdom? Is our little plan working? Do the peasants love their Queen yet?" Red asked, examining her nails as if uninterested.

Regina frowned. "Did you have to kill so many people?" She whispered. "I thought you were just going to scare them."

Red laughed. "And scare them I did. There's nothing people fear more than meeting a bloody and violent end. But what would have been the appropriate number of people to kill, your majesty? One? Two?"

Regina winced at her words.

"Oh don't be like that," Red said, pulling a package out from somewhere in her clothes. Regina couldn't work out from where.

"Here, I brought you a present."

She placed the package in front of Regina.

"What is it?" Regina asked, infinitely curious as to what Red would consider an appropriate present for her.

"Open it and see," she said with a smirk.

Regina carefully unwrapped the package. Inside was a small leather-bound book with strange markings carved into the cover.

She frowned in confusion. "Red what is this?"

"It's a book of spells. I thought perhaps you might want to learn some magic to defend yourself when I'm not around. You can't exactly trust your guards to look after you. I should know, I've killed enough of them."

"Red where did you get this?" Regina had a feeling she wouldn't like the answer.

"I stole it off of a little gold man. He tasted funny." She scrunched her face up at the memory and picked something that Regina hoped was imaginary out from between her teeth.

Regina felt relief at her words. At least she wouldn't have to worry about the owner of the book turning up with magic and demanding to have it back.

"Thank you Red, that's very thoughtful." Regina paused for a moment before smiling slowly, "How can I show you my gratitude?"

Red raised an eyebrow.

"I believe I mentioned something about liking your dress better if it were on the floor?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The bed was bathed in the light of the full moon.

Regina was close to orgasm when there was a frantic knocking at the door to her chambers.

"Your majesty!" A guard called from outside the door.

"Red, stop," Regina panted, trying to push Red's snout out from between her legs. But Red was stronger than her, and her paws were pinning down Regina's legs so she couldn't move away.

"Red!" Regina hissed again, but she ignored her and continued to lick.

Regina grabbed the red cloak lying next to her on the bed and threw it over Red.

As soon as the weight lifted from her legs Regina jumped off the bed and pulled her robe on and around herself.

"You could have waited until we were done," Red huffed, now fully human and pouting in annoyance.

"Put some clothes on Red, I mean it!" Regina hissed as she crossed the room to open the door which was still being pounded on furiously.

"What is it?" She snapped at the flustered looking guard on the other side of the door.

"Your majesty, it's the princess, Snow White, she's escaped!"

Regina felt her heart skip a beat. This was bad. This could only be bad.

In an instant Red was beside her, fully clothed and wearing her red cloak to keep her human form.

"Take me to her chambers," Red demanded of the guard. He looked to Regina, unsure of what to do, and Regina nodded.

He led them to the other side of the palace.

Red held her hand up to Regina and the guard. "Wait here," she said, and again Regina nodded to the guard to obey.

Red entered Snow's chambers and closed her eyes. She breathed in deeply a few times, then crossed the room and bent over and sniffed the bed.

Regina was, not for the first time, very glad that Red still had her wolf senses when she was human.

"Follow me," Red called over her shoulder as she jogged from the room.

She led them along corridors, through rooms, and into a part of the palace that Regina hadn't even known existed.

Eventually they came to a small door which, upon opening, came out on the other side of the palace walls.

Regina wished she'd known about this door all those years ago when she had dreamed so desperately of escaping.

Red stopped suddenly, sniffing the air. She knelt down and sniffed the grass. When she stood and turned back to face Regina and the guard her face was ablaze with fury.

"You," she growled at the guard, "you were charged with guarding Snow white?"

"Y…Yes… Uh… Ma'am," he stammered, obviously terrified.

"Well, then the questions is, did she ask you to wait until two days after she had escaped to tell the Queen, or are you just so incompetent that you didn't notice?"

His eyes went very wide.

Red snarled and stepped forward, in one fluid motion she grabbed the man's head, one hand on either side, and twisted sharply. There was a sickening crunch as his neck snapped and the guard dropped limply to the floor.

"I can't track her anymore. The scent is long gone out here after two days."

Regina wasn't sure, but she thought Red almost looked _afraid._

"This is bad, isn't it?" Regina whispered.

"That depends," Red said, looking her in the eyes, "how much does she know about me? About what we've done?"

Regina didn't know. Not everything. But probably more than she should.

"Enough. She knows enough."

Red growled again and stormed back into the palace. Regina followed behind.

"Then I suggest you start learning some of those spells in that book I gave you. You might come to need them, depending on how this goes."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Snow's escape was, as they had feared, problematic. Despite having been locked up in the palace for the last nine months or so, it seemed many people still held a lot of loyalty to their princess.

Red hunted for her. Often. But somehow Snow managed to evade her.

Regina was growing suspicious as to whether Red really was looking for Snow. Surely she couldn't possibly evade a werewolf for this long? Even with people helping her. But why would Red lie?

Of course Regina had her allies too. She had been a good Queen so far and that had earned her some loyal followers of her own. She also had the resources of the crown at her disposal. She had her guards. The ones Red hadn't killed, anyway.

Plus she had _Red._

She still had the upper hand.

But the peasants' scuffles with her guards were becoming more frequent. The crude posters denouncing her as Queen more blatant. And Regina was getting more frustrated.

They were heading towards an all-out rebellion.

She did have one more advantage up her sleeve though. One that no one knew about yet, not even Red.

Magic.

She'd been reading the book that Red had given her. Practicing. It would appear that she had somewhat of a natural talent for magic.

Regina made her way slowly to her chambers. Tonight she would attempt a spell to locate Snow White. Once she found her, then she could send Red after her, and end this once and for all. Regina regretted that it had to come to this, but Snow was leaving her no choice.

As she opened the door to her chambers she was surprised to see Red, not lounging around on the bed like she usually was, but rushing round the room, picking up jewellery and clothes and shoving them into a bag.

"Red? What are you doing?"

Red glanced up at her and continued.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm leaving."

_Leaving?_ She couldn't mean for good though. Red wouldn't leave her, not now.

"Why are you taking jewellery? You never wear jewellery."

Red smirked. "I've gotten a little bit too used to the life of luxury, being here with you, so I thought I'd take some things I could sell. You know, to ease myself back into the real world, slowly. So to speak."

"I hate being a domesticated puppy," she muttered to herself. Regina heard it.

Regina started to panic.

"Where are you going? When are you coming back? Why are you going?"

Red looked over at her, and for the first time Regina thought she saw disgust in her eyes.

"I don't know, probably never, and because your delightful step-daughter has told all the little peasants about me and now they've all armed themselves with silver tipped arrows, which means it's my cue to get as far away from here as possible."

Regina felt like the world was collapsing in on her. Red couldn't leave. She _needed_ Red. He whole life she had been abused or alone until Red had showed up and freed her from that. Red was the only person Regina trusted. The only person she had to talk to. The only person who cared about her. She couldn't leave.

"No, Red, please don't go. You don't need to go. You can stay here at the palace. You'll be safe here. You don't need to leave."

Red stopped shoving things in her bag and turned to face Regina, her face full of fire.

"I am not your house pet! I am a _wolf_! I need to be free to run," her lips curled in disdain, "and even if Snow hadn't escaped I would still need to leave for precisely that reason. We had some fun, we killed some people, we changed a system of government, but now it's time for me to move on."

Regina felt close to tears. "Please, Red," she begged, "please don't go. I need you. Please stay, for me."

Red really did look disgusted then.

"You are the _Queen_ , Regina, you do not need anyone. Has nothing I've said got through to you?"

Regina tried to take deep calming breaths. She knew that there was nothing she could say that would convince Red to stay.

But maybe there was something that she could do.

She would need to be careful though. If Red caught on she would kill her. She had to do this right.

Regina calmed herself. She straightened her back and held herself once again like the Queen she had become.

"Well, if you're going to leave…" Regina stepped forward as she slowly started to unbutton the front of her dress, "couldn't we spend one more night together? To say goodbye?"

Red frowned, ever so slightly, and Regina panicked that maybe Red knew what she was planning. But she couldn't possibly know. She couldn't.

Red's gaze flicked down to her chest and Regina continued unbuttoning her dress. In a heartbeat Red was surging forward and their lips collided fiercely. 

It was rougher than usual.

Red was tearing at her clothes and Regina started to do the same.

She had to focus though. She had one chance at this, if she did it wrong Red would either leave her, or kill her.

Focussing all her magic, Regina kissed Red deeply as she thrust her arm into Red's chest, closing her hand around her heart, and pulling it out in one sharp motion.

Regina stepped back from Red, her eyes wide with wonder at the sight of Red's glowing, beating, heart in her hands.

"What did you do?" Red gasped, her hand over her chest, her eyes impossibly wide.

"I'm sorry Red, I couldn't let you leave me. I need you."

Red was still gasping for breath, clutching her chest. But she tried to stand.

Regina took a step back and held the heart up to her mouth. Her book said that she could command the person if she spoke directly to their heart.

"Never leave me. Never hurt me. Always protect me," she whispered, never breaking eye contact with Red. Red's eyes seethed with hatred.

"You're just as bad as _him_ now, you know that, don't you?" she spat.

Regina's heart froze.

"What?"

"You're doing to me exactly what he did to you. Only this is worse. He took a sheep and penned it, and you're taking a wolf and locking her in a cage."

"It's… This is different."

"How?"

"Because it is!"

Regina couldn't have this conversation. Not now. Everything was too raw. Too painful. Too much. She'd just pulled Red's _heart out._

She raised the heart to her lips once more.

"Wait for me in the council rooms. I will do a location spell to find Snow White, when I tell you where she is you will go and find her, and you will kill her. You will then return to the palace."

Red scowled as she stood and left the room.

Regina exhaled sharply. She had done it. She had taken Red's heart. Now Red wouldn't leave her. She couldn't. And then they just needed to get rid of Snow White, and everything would be fine. Regina would still be free, still be Queen, Red would still be here, and they could just… live happily ever after.

It would be perfect.

But first she needed to hide Red's heart, and then find Snow White.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Red's entrance was less dramatic than usual. She slunk around the edges of the room, sticking to the shadows. It took Regina a few minutes to notice her presence.

"Red! You're back," Regina gasped in surprise.

Red stepped out into the light of the room. There was a trickle of blood running from her lips.

"What happened? Red, are you okay?" Regina rushed forward and tried to cup Red's face with her hands but she pushed her away.

"I'm fine. It's done. Thanks to your spell I was able to find her camp. Snow White and her followers won't be a problem for you anymore. May I leave now?"

Regina took several calming breaths. Snow was taken care of. That was good. Now perhaps things could settle down in the kingdom. They could go back to a time of peace.

But Red… Red was obviously still angry about the heart incident. Which was probably fair enough. Regina did hope she'd come round eventually though.

"Would you like to celebrate?" Regina asked, her voice low and husky as she stepped towards Red once more, her intentions clear.

"Are you going to command me to?" Red asked, her lip curling in disgust.

Regina snarled in frustration. She'd picked up the habit from Red.

"Of course I'm not going to command you to lie with me. I know you're angry at me and you think I've taken away your freedom, but it's not going to be like that Red, I promise. You're still free to come and go as you wish, you can even kill my guards if you want, I just needed to make sure that you'd always come back to me, that's all."

Red's expression was stony.

"I should have killed you the night we first met in the woods," she spat.

"Oh Red, I hope you don't mean that. Besides, you can't be too angry at me, after all, you gave me the magic book, and you taught me that some people are wolves, and some people are sheep. I finally learned to be a wolf. I learned from the best, I learned from you."

It was Red's turn to snarl.

"May I go now, _your majesty?_ "

Regina sighed.

"Yes, Red, you may go. You don't need to ask my permission. Things will be a lot more pleasant for both of us if we can go back to the way things were before. Just think about it."

Red stormed from the room. As she reached the door she paused and looked over her shoulder at Regina.

"You know, if I wasn't so angry at you for ripping my heart out I'd probably be proud of you. You've certainly come a long way since the scared little girl I met in the woods." She shook her head slowly. "You really are a wolf."

Regina smirked. 

Red's eyes flicked down over Regina's body and Regina felt hopeful that if she kept her word and allowed Red the same freedom she'd always had then eventually she would forgive her.

Eventually she'd _want_ to stay.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_There are many realms and many kingdoms in this world. Some are ruled benevolently, like the land of Oz ruled by the beautiful and fair Princess Ozma. Others are ruled malevolently, such as Wonderland, where people are quick to lose their heads around the Queen of Hearts. Then there are others which have become legend. People whisper of these kingdoms. They tell stories._

_Legend has it there is a land ruled by a powerful witch queen who can rip the still beating heart from her enemies and control them. They say she has a pet wolf who can turn into a woman at will. They say she murdered the King and the Princess with her bare hands in order to take the throne. They say that the kingdom is bordered by an impenetrable wall of thorns so that no one may enter or leave._

_No one knows if these stories are true or not. No one has ever dared find out._

_Until now…_


End file.
